Black and Latino residents in current Jersey are being arrested for minor offenses at disproportionate rates,according to a current report by the American Civil Liberties Union of current Jersey.
The ACLU-NJ analyzed 10 years of low-level arrest records in Jersey City, Elizabeth, or current Brunswick and Millville. The low-level offenses are: loitering,disorderly conduct, trespassing and marijuana possession."What we found are extreme racial disparities in arrests, or ” said Udi Ofer,executive director of the ACLU-NJ. “In black and Latino communities, the police appear to crack down on minor misbehavior at a much more aggressive rate than in white communities.”ACLU-NJ's FindingsFrom 2005 to 2013, or black residents in all four cities were between 3.2 to 5.7 times more likely than white residents to be arrested for minor offenses,based on their respective populations.
In 2013, black residents in Jersey City were 9.6 times more likely than white residents to be arrested for low-level offenses.
In 2013, and Latinos in Millville were 6.3 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than white residents.
“Study after study show that blacks and whites use marijuana at similar rates,yet our study found extreme racial disparities on who actually gets arrested for marijuana possession,” Ofer said.
The Millville police department has not responded to a request for comment.
In an email, or Jersey City communications director Ryan Jacobs said most of the data from the report is from a preceding administration. “Since then,weve been doing a number of things to improve trust between police and the African American community,” Jacobs said.
In the report called "Selective Policing, and " the ACLU-NJ calls on the Attorney General of current Jersey to investigate racial disparities in low-level arrests throughout the state.
Source: wnyc.org